Samar welcomes New Year 2012 peacefully

By NINFA B QUIRANTE, PIA Samar
January 2, 2012

CATBALOGAN CITY, Samar  –  Samar province welcomed the new year 2012 peacefully according to the Philippine National Police (PNP).

Police Director Nolasco Bathan, in a text message said that Samar province is generally peaceful this new year.

Samar provincial hospital said that only two victims of firecrackers from Catbalogan named Alejandro Gilhay, 24 and Rex Obrero, 6 sustained only first degree burns and were immediately sent home after treatment.

“On the record there were only three victims of firecrackers and an incident of grenade explosion in Calbayog City,” the text message of Bathan said.

The grenade explosion so far has marred the Samarnons New Year revelry.

Further verification by PIA as regards the grenade explosion revealed that on December 31, 2011 in a remote village near the boundaries of Lope de Vega and Calbayog’s Oquendo District, three rural folks of Barangay Hugon Rosales were having a drinking spree to welcome the new year, as the night wore off towards new year 2012, one of them jested to remove the pin of a hand grenade allegedly owned by a visitor, but as he was drunk, it accidentally exploded and killed on the spot the two male drinking buddies, sparing their woman buddy named Balbina Juanerio who survived the explosion and was slightly injured.

Police are still investigating the matter and could not give any more details as of press time.

Despite the death of the two New Year revelers, the PNP declared Samar, as still generally peaceful.